Significance of FeathersHistorically shamans from various cultures used feathers to symbolically assist their souls to rise above the material world. A feather is synonymous with the soul, metaphorically speaking. They are light in weight and are the only means by which a bird is able to fly. Similarly, the soul is extremely subtle in comparison to the dense physical body that houses it; when free from restrictions, a soul can fly uninhibited. Feathers reflect the fact that no matter what physical obstacles are put in our way during our life’s journey, we all have the capability to rise above our fears and limitations and, in so doing, we will be able to rise to new levels of understanding.In ancient African Egyptian spirituality, the feather was named ‘Shut’, a symbol of Shu the Egyptian god of the air and the father of the Earth ﻿(Geb) ﻿and the ﻿﻿﻿Sky (Nut)﻿.﻿﻿Shu was often shown wearing a feather in his hair. Occasionally Geb was shown dressed in feathers, a representation of the air which covers him. Usually, the feather was a symbol of ﻿Ma'at, ﻿the goddess of truth, order, balance, and reciprocity. The goddess of the judgment tribunal was always shown wearing an ostrich feather in her hair; the feather by itself was her emblem. Other gods in the judgment hall who were part of the tribunal overseeing the weighing of the heart were also pictured holding a feather. The feather was shown in scenes of the Hall of Ma'at; this hall is where the deceased was judged for his worthiness to enter the afterlife.The seat of the deceased's soul, his heart, was weighed on a balance against the feather of Ma'at. It was Ma’at’s job to evaluate and judge the souls of all those who had just died. She weighted each soul against a feather; if the soul was too heavy it was sent to the underworld, but if the soul was as light as a feather it was allowed to proceed upwards to the heavens. In Greek mythology Icarus and his father, Daedalus, were trying to think of ways to escape from the labyrinth, a palace with intricate corridors, in which they were imprisoned, and they came up with an idea after watching some birds fly past. They collected all the bird feathers they could find and, using wax from candles, they fashioned a pair of wings for Icarus.When Icarus flew out of the labyrinth and away to freedom it looked as if the plan was going well, but Icarus flew too close to the sun, causing the wax to melt and the feathers to fall off, and he came crashing down into the sea below, where an island formed to mark the spot. Icarus, with wings like a bird, represents the soul, and the labyrinth in which he was imprisoned denotes the physical body; once free of the physical body, the soul is able to fly to higher realms.Significance of the CircleIn Ancient African Egyptian spirituality the circle was a symbol in the form of a ring known as ‘Shen’ from the Egyptian word for encircle; go around referring to the course of the sun around the world. At times the sun was depicted encircled by a Shen referring to the eternity of creation. By its association with the sun it was a source of life; it also stood for protection by encirclement. Circular shapes, being endless, symbolized completeness and infinity in ancient Egypt. Often the Shen ring is depicted most being carried by the falcon god ﻿Horus﻿, but was also carried by the vulture goddess ﻿Nekhbet﻿.The symbol of Taoism an ancient Chinese spirituality is the dual-colored circle consisting of ‘Ying-Yang’ complementary forces of the dynamic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. ‘Ying’ is the black side of the circle with the white dot in it, and ‘Yang’ is the white side of the circle with the black dot in it. The Ying-Yang is ﻿interconnected﻿ and interdependent in the natural world and gives rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.In Zen Buddhism the ‘Enso’, or Zen circle, is a universal symbol of wholeness and completion representing the cyclical nature of existence, as well as a visual manifestation of the Heart Sutra. Moreover it embodies one of the defining aspects of Zen Buddhism, no-mind. A state of no-mind is where a person is free from thoughts and emotions while being completely present in the now. It is believed that while in this state of total presence, true creativity can arise.Native American nations regarded the circle as the main symbol for understanding life's mysteries; to them the whole of life appeared to be circular. They observed that all of life was circular movement which could be seen everywhere throughout nature. Man looked out on the physical world through their eyes, which is circular. The Earth is round, and so are the Sun, Moon, and planets. The rising and setting of the Sun follows a circular motion. The seasons form a circular movement. Birds build their nests in circles. Animals marked their territories in circles. In the old days, tribes lived in circular homes called tepees and their communities were arranged with the tepees in a circle. In Reiki the circle is also significant, ‘Mawashi’ is a method of sharing Reiki in the circle. Reiki Mawashi is commonly referred to as the Reiki Circle as it involves a group of Reiki practitioners seated in a circle so that each person is facing the back of the person in front of them. Placing their hands on the shoulders of the person in front, a slight pressure is applied with the fingertips, and the practitioners seek to lose themselves in the awareness of the energy flowing in from the person behind them and out to the person in front that causes more and more energy circulation and healing.